The Purple Rose
by TrueLeaf
Summary: Going through high school, Everyone begins to learn that life is becoming more crucial and that more work is required to accomplish what you want. Though some may not realize this as fast as others, and usually rely on their friends and reputation for a good life. Gumball learns that many things can be hidden with those people, secrets. Like the rose and it's thorns. One-shot


_** This unexpectedly became the longest one shot ever…please don't mind it's longevity, and I hope you like it**__._

It was a graduation party. They were all graduating from freshman year to sophomore year in high school. At that time, Gumball couldn't decide if his presence in the party was crucial in any way, it was a rather boring throng and he was at the point of wanting to leave. He would sieve his way through unknown faces and crowds and he would feel unwelcome. Even if unintentional, he was given the cold shoulder, and with the drink in his hand, he was quite ready to leave by now. But it was a party; one that was filled with loud chatter and laughter that could cheer anyone up. Gumball could say he was a little excited to be here, to know that he was passing on a grade and that he would further on in his skills of photography and be able to do more with his talents. However, he also felt that with being an introvert, his uncouth ways were what was warding others away.

He wasn't used to be around so many people, among those which he didn't know. He wasn't used to not being around friends and he knew he couldn't expect himself to be a socialite among the others and enjoy a good time. He was the highlight of that of an apple with oranges. Gumball sighed, drank his punch and stiffened his collar. Maybe coming here wasn't such a brand idea, if he wasn't even enjoying himself, he might as well call his mother and ask for a pick-up. Darwin and his sister were talking amongst their friends and in a way he envied their abilities to be so naturally likeable and socially attached to others. _Why am I being so angsty?_ Gumball muttered to himself. He hated how at times he wanted nothing but solitude and yet at other times he longed for the attention and invitation of others and their acknowledgement of his existence.

Gumball set down his glass at the table and made his way passed the congregation of people and held his backpack tightly. He remembered that his teacher, Ms. Aquino, had wanted him to take pictures of what he saw as inspirational, uplifting or enlightening. It was his challenge over the summer and he gladly accepted it. She was one of the teachers he could appreciate, mainly because she appreciated him. He liked how she was a foreign teacher that came from the Philippines and the stories she would share with the class about her past there.

He sighed and received the thought that maybe he should at least take a few photos from here. Though having to find something inspirational and uplifting would be a challenge itself. He glanced around at the party, and beheld the crowd and the loud music, the dancing and the flashing lights. Gumball got the sudden thought about the memories of Elmore. He was no longer in middle school, and in fact at Elleville High school. The gym had a similar shape and robustness to it in it's frame that incited that memory to arise from the depths of his mind. Gumball sighed and began to part his way to the exit, when he noticed Penny. However, she was arguing with her current boyfriend, Dale; He could hardly hear her over the music but he could see how distressed and upset she was. Dale seemed to try and reassure her but she flinched away at every attempt that he tried to touch her. Then, she had hit him, hard, a fist into his face that left him kneeling and holding his nose. Then she turned around furiously, and began to push her way to the exit. A circle of people had gathered around the two and were now laughing.

Gumball took chase after her, curious as to why she seemed so angry; they seemed to be a great couple. Penny exited the gym through the hallway, slamming her hands into the doors and stormed away from the area. Gumball in sequence exited quietly behind her, trying to make his presence silent as possible. He felt a bit of nervousness and excitement run though his blood; it had been a while since he last spoken to her, but he wasn't so sure if his company would in any way help her. He heard the clapping sound of her heels hit the floor as she lied a far distance away ahead. Penny entered the locker room hallways and knowing that he would lose distance lingering behind, he jogged cautiously, using one hand to hold his backpack from juddering from his jolts. Gumball felt as if he was being stalkerish in a way but he removed the thought from his mind. He entered into the locker room and as he expected, she left the building on campus. At this point he was willing to let his following be known to her as he sped up and opened the front doors.

" Penny!" Gumball called. She was at the stairs when she turned back to look at him. He hadn't realized it before but she had been crying; spilled eyeliner was cascading down her cheeks.

" Oh Gumball—" She gasped and reached for her handkerchief, wiping away the disarray of her makeup.

" Are you alright?" He asked, approaching her slowly. She sniffed and sighed, turning away from him. She didn't want any company right now, from what Gumball could tell.

" I'm…I'm fine…" She said with a weary tone. Penny stared into the night and Gumball slowly came beside her. She took a moment to relive the recent past and she closed her eyes. Her hand rose to her forehead and she sniffled again.

" You're sad." He mentioned.

" Just leave." Penny said icily, and began to walk away, trying to avoid his company.

" Wait, Penny." Gumball rushed to her side.

" Gumball…leave."

" Does this have to do with Dale?" Gumball asked, and soon regretted it. She'd then whipped around, and he dress spanned out in a quick spread of a circle, and collapsed around her legs.

" It's none of your business!" She spat. They remained in their poses, Gumball slightly shocked and Penny outraged. She turned around again and approached the brick railing near the stairs. Gumball remained at his spot and felt a bit of spreading pain about in his chest. He was hurt; but Gumball knew that it wasn't entirely directed at his fault. After a while of letting her calm, he slowly came to her side. Her elbows were on top of the bricks and she had her hands covering her face.

" I'm sorry Gumball." She said, tiredly. "…You've been nothing but a kind friend and I'm taking my anger out on you." She said and removed her hands to her chin. Her eyelids were halfway cascaded upon her eyes and she looked depressed.

"…Are you alright?" Gumball repeated. Her eyes switched from the starry view to his face. And this time, she shook her head.

" I'm terrible." she replied sadly. " It's Dale…He's a fucking cheat and a liar." Penny said bitterly, and her hands shot up to her antlers. She began to unhook a pair of purple amethyst earrings, which Gumball thought they looked gorgeous, and held them in her fist. She took a few steps back and cocked her arm back, and released them into a throw. Gumball knew that in a way that the jewelry she just abdicated was a present from Dale, but also a resemblance of her getting rid of him. At the moment, Gumball suffered from a moments embarrassment from being speechless; it was a rather awkward situation.

" He just now told me he had another fucking girlfriend; some whore…" She cursed to break the silence. She shook her head in disapproval and crossed her arms. Gumball wouldn't know how it would be like to have your heart stolen and broken. How it would like to fall in love with someone, which you could out your complete trust into and yet have that stolen away. To be stabbed in the back, or to be betrayed from a loved one. But at the same time, Gumball felt the same way when she began dating. It as always his desire to be with her, and when that opportunity vanished, he could say that he did feel broken.

" I'm just…" Penny paused and sniffled again, trying to hold in the rampant emotions. " So…sick of everything…sick of life. I'm tired of being thrown around like some object…and being treated like I'm just some accessory. I'm fucking tired of it." Penny raised her hand to her mouth, and the tears began to fall when she shook her head again. At this, she didn't dare face him, but Gumball reassured her, and place his hand on her shoulder. He let her to cry for a while. He could feel her hiccups shake her body whenever she inhaled. For a while she remained like this and Gumball wanted to let her know that he didn't mind. When she finished, they both stared at the starry night and didn't speak to each other. He wasn't sure how long this lasted, this time of space, but to estimate, it was around 6 minutes.

" Sometimes…Gumball…I feel that I can't trust anyone anymore." She said, wearily. "…nobody but you." Penny added, and this brought the temperature in Gumball up a few notches.

" Why?" Gumball hesitated to ask.

" Because you're a friend…and you've never…left, really. You were always kind of…around." Penny began and she leaned forward to rest her arms on the guardrail. "…You've just been a really good person to me…yet…" Penny paused and chuckled a few airs. " I've been a very…horrible friend." She added and shook her head slowly.

" No you haven't." Gumball confirmed, shaking his head at her.

" Yes I have. The last time I spoke with you was the beginning of freshman year. I was too busy trying to prim up to other boys…How much of an idiot was I?" she laughed. " We couldn't have been called friends in that space of time where we didn't talk. That was mainly my fault."

" Penny, you're being too harsh with yourself." Gumball remarked, and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. " I didn't mind that you went looking for a boyfriend. Though even if I did it wouldn't hardly matter anyways." He chuckled. It was ironic; all this time he'd been wanting to speak his mind about her and him being together, yet when given the opportune chance he lies about it to make himself appear better. Gumball mentally smacked himself for his selfishness.

" One thing I like about you Gumball…" She paused and sighed. "…Is that you don't vie yourself for their attention of others and for rep. You work your way academically to earn a living. You have priorities, I…well, don't. I'm a wreck." Penny laughed again, but he could hear the stinging truth and bitterness in her laughs.

" No you're not." Gumball remarked.

" Yes…few years back, I wouldn't have been cursing…I wouldn't have had such bad grades…I definitely wouldn't have been wearing _this_." Penny remarked and brought her arms over her chest, now having the feeling of being overexposed by the cross breeze that tingled her skin. Gumball thought otherwise; He thought she looked beautiful in that dress. It matched her earrings, purple and sparkly.

" And I would've been a better friend to you, most importantly." Penny sighed.

" Penny, you're a _great_ friend." He retorted. Penny smiled glumly.

" I wonder what sick little bird told you that…" She mused. Gumball sighed and glanced back at the starry night. The moon shone brightly in the sky, and provided with a small amount of light to expose the ground and terrain. It was at this moment that Gumball realized what inspirational was. Uplifting. He became a bit excited and he turned to Penny.

" Penny…" Gumball began. She looked at him with weariness; most likely of soul. " Can I take a picture of you?" Gumball asked shyly, fingering the arm strap of his backpack. A small smile formed on her lips.

" A picture of me?" She reiterated. Gumball nodded. " You take photography?" Penny asked, interested. Gumball just nodded again. To try and lessen the awkwardness in this situation, for Gumball, he told her about his assignment.

" Uplifting? I'm supposed to be your example of uplifting?" She asked, obviously amused. Gumball was beginning to become tired of her self-directed jokes about being a terrible person and pain. It was as if her self respect dissolved a long time ago. It was a thing that bothered him.

" Yes, Penny. I think you're beautiful. I think that you're uplifting in every way." Gumball remarked and then held his tongue. Sweat began to gather at his forehead and shuffled his fingers in embarrassment. However, Penny still was smiling. Whether it be with amusement or with true glee, He couldn't tell. She sat up from the rail and wiped her dress.

" Okay." She nodded. Gumball probably would've been able to hear the hint of sorrow in her voice, the small tired tone of unwillingness if it wasn't for his excitement of her answer.

After setting his camera upon a tripod for better alignment, and after arranging his camera to be in manual mode, and to shoot in RAW, he fixed the apertures of his lens to be f/16 for better shots in night. Gumball configured the settings to be in Mirror lock-up and to use it's built-in timer to trigger the shutter, so their wouldn't be any blurs. Gumball felt sweat at his head and his hands during this process, it was taking a while and he was embarrassed at how much time he was consuming prepping. But Penny remained in pose. She would look at him sometimes while he was fixing his camera and almost be fascinated by his knowledge of the device. Afterwards he smiled nervously and she took note of that meant he was ready and Penny straightened her back.

He started the timer and moved out of the way of the roof lights above them to brighten the picture. The camera flashed after a while and Gumball checked the picture on his LCD a few moments later. He ranged the apertures again a little lower and took another test shot. After receiving good results, he took a few more pictures of her in that pose, Each shot taking around 30 seconds for the shutter speed. The pictures were all merely the same, of Penny facing the camera, but he felt proud of all of them. Then he asked her if she could face the moon. Penny only nodded and he set the camera while she changed stance. To get more environment, Gumball set the camera a few feet back and adjusted his settings again. He looked back up at Penny and he felt a bit of an excitement run through his veins again. He particularly liked how this was happening, to be able to be by her again and to speak with her— Even to receive photos of her! It was extraordinary. He began the timer and he counted down each second, smiling in the process, and as well as thinking how lucky he might've been at the time…The shutter began it's process…

1...2...3...4...5

Gumball felt every trembling muscle in his body move forward, his eyes watering as he beheld the sight in front of him. He made his way up the walkway, and the organ playing it's sad tune lingered in his ears. He held a flower, a white rose for whatever reason. She was so beautiful, but at the same time she was so horrible to look upon. He slowly approached her, the open casket, and his shaking hand released the flower at her side. _Why would she do this? What in the hell caused her to do this?_ He wondered painfully. Gumball was confused. Enraged. Sorrowful. Her smile looked largely unwholesome. It frightened him. The awful stillness of her body. The dress, that terrible, purple dress…Tears ran rampantly down his face, uncontrollably. _Why?_

…11...12...13..14...15

He gave his condolences to the parents a few days after the funeral. He was bewildered, and distant. His mind was still searching for answers and at night he would shake in bed in fear. Her smile haunted him. Her unwavering stillness that could chill anyone to the bone. And that song, that disturbing choir and organ. He couldn't sleep at night anymore, her image always took away what weariness he had. He would just lay there in his bed, curled up in a fetal position, pensive, wearing nothing but his boxers and tank top. The nights were cold in the fall but he felt sick and hot. He was unreasonably upset about her. Afraid. Depressed. That damned photo was still on his drawer beside his alarm clock. All of them were.

…21...22...23...24...25

Quince would come in and leave for work every day. He years ago removed his camera and gave it back to Ms. Aquino, and she understood why. He stopped chasing the dream of being a photographer and began to pick up remains of his mind to work for a company. He captured her life in these photos. He worked in a cubicle, a boring life as a computer programmer and he would always be required to wear a suit. He did his work, drank coffee for breakfast, made his way past his co-workers and remained as that silent one in the corner. He hardly had friends. He knew friends would help him with his hidden depression but nevertheless he remained quiet about everything; his past, his life. He was a figment inside the working place, a shadow that was acknowledged by it's presence but not it's emotions. He'd even made up the name for himself, a title that he'd rather go by. He couldn't stand the embarrassment of the other…Quince was no longer Gumball. He…vanished a long while ago.

…26...27...28...

That photo remained nothing but a scarlet memory. It was the life taken before the life was taken by death. The photos were given to it's rightful owners, the parents, for them to cherish the last moments. The last one was kept secretly by another. However, it was lingering in a closet somewhere, deep within a box or if taken care of properly, inside a photo album. It was the remaining existence of her. One that the people whom she affected most would never forget. _I can still smell that perfume…burning my nose…her dress…sparkling like glitter…and he tears…dropping forever into her blood._

…29...30

The camera flashed again and Gumball checked his LCD. He mentioned he was done and he put away his materials. He was happy that he was able to get a few photos of her, and she smiled at him.

" Thank you." He remarked as he flung his backpack around his shoulders. She shook her head. And then the tears again. She was troubled, even more so. Penny seemed to be rather sorrowful about what had happened earlier. And she didn't even want to be seen anymore, as she tried to run away from him.

After she'd stopped and held her arm out, she shook her head again.

" Please…I…I need to go home." She said weakly. Gumball felt his heart being pierced. He thought that maybe it was his fault. Maybe it was his fault that she was more upset. He didn't try to ease the situation, but he only in fact made it worse. He took photos of her in her weakest state! And yet he mocked her, whenever she would say things about herself, he would only mock her self-esteem. He was too stupid to realize that she was hurt deeply. And she was only falling more.

" I'm sorry…" Gumball remarked sadly.

" It's not your fault." she choked, and broke down again. He wasn't so sure if she was telling the truth or not, but in that moment she'd given him a hug. She felt warm, and he knew that he'd have a red face by this. In her embrace, he felt his mind blank out, and he hugged her back. It was his attempt to try and make her feel better. She was awfully upset. She'd stayed like this for a while, until she whispered.

" You're a good person…I love you for that." And she turned away and ran. Gumball wasn't so sure what exactly happened that night. He wasn't so sure how she felt and what she'd meant. He watched her run away and disappear into the distance, not knowing that would be the last time he'd see her. Not knowing she would go to matters so far.

In the morning, on the news, it was announced that Penny was found dead at her house. The body was found at 6:30 in the morning by her parents. They called and the police arrived in 16 minutes. She was in a pool of her own blood, lacerations. Suicide.

_**So…sick of everything….sick of life**_.

_Style and Inspiration received from Author Khaled Hosseini (c) His novels and stories. No copyright infringement intended._


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